Australian MotoGP 2024: Vintage Marc Marquez produces stunning victory at Phillip Island

A stunning ride from eight-time world champion Marc Marquez has delivered him a brilliant victory at the Australian MotoGP despite a dramatic start off the grid, while Aussie Jack Miller came home strong.

PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 18: Jorge Martin of Spain and the #89 Prima Pramac Racing during practice ahead of the MotoGP of Australia, at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on October 18, 2024 in Phillip Island, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

After two days of wild weather and even wilder wildlife at Phillip Island, MotoGP great Marc Marquez brought some poise to proceedings, producing a stunning triumph in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

A vintage ride on the Gresini Ducati secured the eight-time world champion his fourth MotoGP win at the island.

Marquez saw off the challenges of Ducati rivals and this year’s championship contenders Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia whofilled the podium places.

Yet Marquez’s day had almost ended in disaster from his front-row start – his bike had a massive wheel spin when his own visortear-off became stuck under his rear tyre.

The Spaniard entered the first few laps back in seventh, prompting another classic salvage operation. That he was able tograb back control, preserve his tyres and then swoop over Martin in the closing stages was testament to his talent – and hislove of the island circuit.

“It was unlucky, it (the tear-off) was under my wheel and I saw it. I tried to remove but it was impossible,’’ Marquez said.

Marc Marquez is a great of the sport. Picture: AFP

“I thought it was impossible to catch Martin but then lap five or six I started to build my rhythm.’’

Martin’s second placing stretched his championship lead to 20 points, doubling his advantage over Bagnaia after the weekend,and with three rounds to go.

Australian Jack Miller came home in 11th after missing the start from 16th on the grid. The Queenslander had slipped to 19thon the first lap yet he slowly worked his way through the field.

The KTM rider will be relieved at least to have avoided the wildlife dramas that dogged his Saturday when he hit a rabbitduring qualifying and then a seagull was wedged in his bike’s handlebars during the sprint race.

Marc Marquez took out the Australian Moto GP. Picture: AFP

No rider experienced any wildlife encounters on Sunday after incursions by geese, rabbits, seagulls and even a wallaby overthe opening two days.

Ducatis filled the first six positions, with Miller’s KTM teammate Brad Binder in seventh.

The event drew a crowd of 33,571 on Sunday for a three-day attendance total of 80,009.

Spaniards Fermin Aldeguer and Aron Canet duelled to the chequered flag in a classic Moto2 race, ahead of Aussie rookie andformer Euro Moto2 champion Senna Agius who scored his first podium.

Colombian David Alonso’s domination of Moto3 continued with an 11th victory, to equal Valentino Rossi’s 1997 record of mostlightweight class wins in one season – and with three rounds still to go.

Alonso, already crowned the Moto3 champion, was a class apart with Daniel Holgado and Adrian Fernandez completing the podiumas a pack of riders dashed to the line.

How rabbit, seagull, mishaps hurt Miller’s Aus MotoGP hopes

Hometown MotoGP hero Jack Miller revealed after the Australian Sprint race at Phillip Island that he rode the race with a seagull wedged into the front of his KTM machine.

Miller slammed into the bird at the first corner, and it was wedged near the handlebars and stayed despite his best efforts to remove it.

“I tried to do what I could on the first lap to see if I could get rid of it. I couldn’t.

“So I focused on the job at hand, which was racing.

“Second lap went into turn one ... the seagull was then flapping, and it kept getting his head jammed in between the brake lever and the handlebars. I wasn’t able to pull a lever. So that was unreal.

Red Bull KTM Factory's Australian rider Jack Miller crashed out of the sprint race, but the seagull was not to blame. Picture: AFP

“I went into turn two, tried to reach over and pull the seagull out with my throttle hand, but wasn’t able to get it out.

“I just had to come to the fact that I was going to race with a seagull hanging out of the bike,’’ he said.

Miller later crashed at turn 10, but the seagull was not to blame, he said.

The Australian also had an earlier encounter with the local wildlife, riding into a rabbit which had hopped across the circuit during qualifying.

At the front of the pack, Ducati star Jorge Martin extended his lead in the 2024 MotoGP championship after victory in a drama-filled sprint race at Phillip Island.

Martin dashed away from the field at the start, quickly built a comfortable lead and was able to coast to victory, finishing 1.52sec ahead of Ducati duo Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini.

Reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia crossed in fourth, slipping to 16 points behind Martin in the duel for this year’s title.

Miller crashed out of the 13-lap race with five laps to go while in eighth position. The KTM rider had made solid progress after starting back on 16th on the grid.

Prima Pramac Racing's Spanish rider Jorge Martin won the sprint. Picture: AFP

The race was blighted by a horror high-speed collision at the end of Gardner Straight where Marco Bezzecchi’s Ducati slammed into the rear of the Aprilia of Maverick Vinales on the second-last lap.

The 220kmh smash at the start of Doohan Corner saw both riders tumbling into the gravel.

Vinales walked away but Bezzecchi was carried to safety on a stretcher and will be in doubt for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Ducatis filled the first six positions.

The infamous island weather took its toll with six riders crashing in the windy conditions, including Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez, Brad Binder and 2023 Australian GP winner Johann Zarco.

Earlier in Moto2, Australian Senna Agius stepped up from the first qualifying session to join Q2, setting a new all-time record of 1 min 31.586sec, a mark surpassed 20 minutes later by pole-sitter Fermin Aldeguer. Agius will start from 13th.

Senna Agius speeds through a corner at Philip Island. Picture: AFP

And in Moto3, Aussie Joel Kelso was top of the timesheets in the closing stages only to be swamped by six riders and will start from the third row of the grid, while countryman Jacob Roulstone was 12th fastest.

Ivan Ortola claimed pole from Colin Veijer and Adrian Fernandez.

MARQUEZ FLIES, MILLER MAKES MESS OF RABBIT

EARLIER: MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin made light of cool and windy conditions at Phillip Island to claim pole position for both the Saturday sprint and the Australian Grand Prix.

Martin piloted his Pramac Ducati to a time of 1 min 27.296, just 0.05 second behind his own all-time lap record set last year, a stunning result given the gusty winds and a 14C temperature.

Marc Marquez was second fastest on the Gresini Ducati, more than half a second behind, while third was factory Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales to make it an all-Spanish front row.

Jorge Martin of Spain and the #89 Prima Pramac Racing at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Martin’s title rival and defending champion Pecco Bagnaia was fifth on the factory Ducati just behind Marco Bezzecchi.

Jack Miller’s KTM hit a rabbit during the first qualifying session and the Australian will start from 16th on the grid for his home race.

Some of the animal’s fur was left embedded in the KTM’s fairing.

Jack Miller of Australia and the #43 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing is seen after hitting a rabbit during qualifying ahead of the MotoGP Of Australia. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Rabbit was here. 😳#KTM#ReadyToRace#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/sByWNqzatU

— RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING (@KTM_Racing) October 19, 2024

"He hit a rabbit" 🐇

Francesco Guidotti on the difficult Q1 for Jack Miller and Brad Binder's Q2 session 🟠

🎙️ @SteveDay#MotoGP | #AustralianGP | Live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ pic.twitter.com/aJUA2qQWYP

— MotoGP on TNT Sports (@motogpontnt) October 19, 2024

The first ever sprint race at Phillip Island will be held on Saturday afternoon. The half-distance events were introduced at the start of 2023 but Australian fans missed out because of the wet and wild weather.

Saturday’s action was marked by strong winds and early rain that swept across the 4.445km coastal circuit.

Australian Senna Agius was the quickest in damp conditions in the Moto2 morning practice. The 19-year-old was more than half a second clear of Tony Arbolino, and will be hoping for more rain during afternoon qualifying.

EIGHT-TIME WORLD CHAMP STARS AS WANDERING WILDLIFE STEAL THE SHOW

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez rolled back the years to be fastest in opening practice of the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island on a strange day of rain, sun – and wandering wildlife.

Cape Barren geese twice strolled onto the track to halt the action, and then late in the MotoGP session, championship leader Jorge Martin had to ease off the throttle to avoid a rabbit hopping across the tarmac.

The opening sessions were meant to be another chapter in the title duel between Martin and Pecco Bagnaia – but Marquez hadn’t read the script.

Gresini Racing MotoGP's Spanish rider Marc Marquez relaxes in the garage. Picture: AFP

Marquez, 31, was the first rider to eclipse the 1min 28sec mark to head into Saturday’s qualifying and sprint race full of confidence.

Younger brother and Gresini teammate Alex was second, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. The fastest three were all on the older GP23 Ducatis.

Martin was fourth fastest but could have been quicker if not having to ease off the throttle to avoid a rabbit on his final lap.

Martin was just ahead of defending champion Bagnaia.

Hometown hero Jack Miller was pushed out of the top 10 – and an automatic spot in the Q2 session – after being fastest at the halfway point of the session.

Earlier in the session, Miller’s factory KTM had tumbled on to the grass at Turn 4 – the corner named in his honour in 2022.

Jack Miller crashed at Turn 4 - the corner named in his honour in 2022 - during practice. Picture: Getty Images

Maverick Vinales, an island winner in 2018, was sixth on the factory Aprilia.

It was a day of extremes. Heavy rain in the morning forced the abandonment of the first MotoGP practice, and then the island sun was so fierce that steam was seen rising from the tarmac.

Teams spent as much time looking at the weather radar as their own data as more rain threatened to interrupt the afternoon.

Three geese strolling across the track had brought out the red flags in the Moto2 practice session.

The native birds, which flourish across the island, forced riders to take evasive action.

Race marshals then ushered the geese to safety while riders returned to the pits for a restart.

After the bird drama, Fermin Aldeguer finished fastest on the timesheets ahead of Aron Canet and Alonso Lopez for an all-Spanish top three.

Unbothered, doing their thing #AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/9ZaKhvNO93

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 18, 2024

Senna Agius was 15th with fellow Aussie Harrison Voight, a late replacement for the injured Dani Munoz for the Preicanos Racing Team.

Red Bull rider Celestino Vietti crashed heavily on track and will be unable to ride for the weekend.

In Moto3, Spaniard Angel Piqueras was quickest on a drying track, a full second ahead of Colombian and 2024 champion David Alonso.

Australian Joel Kelso made the Q2 cut-off in 10th, while countryman Jacob Roulstone was 22nd from a field of 26 riders.

Meanwhile in the World Superbikes series Australian Remy Gardner has signed for another season with the GRT Yamaha team. Gardner, 26, broke his wrist at the Estoril circuit and will miss the final round at Jerez this weekend.

WILD INTERRUPTION: Three Cape Barren geese wandering on the Phillip Island track brought out the red flags in the Moto2 practice session.

The native birds, which flourish across the island, walked across the tarmac at the back of the circuit, forcing riders to take evasive action.

Race marshals then ushered the geese to safety while riders returned to the pits for a restart.

Well, traditions 😂

These birds DO LOVE #Moto2 and they've just caused a red flag 🔴#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/jj6Yp3zgkI

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 18, 2024

LUNCHTIME UPDATE: After a soggy morning at Phillip Island, bikes returned to the track under sunny skies.

The morning practice session for MotoGP was abandoned, and instead an extended 80-minute session will start at 3pm, weather permitting.

The Moto3 riders were first back on track, with Aussies Joel Kelso and Jacob Roulstone hoping to improve their morning times.

And in Moto2, Senna Agius is seeking to improve on his 11-fastest position from the first session.

11AM UPDATE: Heavy rain delayed the start of opening practice of the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.

The rain band that is sweeping across Victoria hit the track about 10.15am, forcing spectators to run for shelter or take cover under umbrellas.

Race authorities ordered a delay to the start of the MotoGP practice session which was scheduled to start at 10.45am.

The earlier opening sessions for Moto2 and Moto3 categories were completed with a few riders sliding off in the slippery conditions.

FIVE REASONS TO TREASURE THE ISLAND

It’s an iconic event that rarely fails to deliver drama, even if it’s the chaotic weather.

And the 4.445km undulating track is one of the world’s best, loved by riders and fans alike.

Here are five reasons why the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is not to be missed.

IT’S SPRINT TIME

Wild weather in 2023 meant the sprint race was abandoned. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Yes, the 13-lap sprint will make its debut at the island, finally.

Although the half-distance races have become a successful innovation on the Saturday schedule since the start of last year, last year’s wet and wild weather meant it never happened at Phillip Island in 2023.

So, after 35 sprint races at other tracks, Australia finally gets its turn on Saturday at 3pm.

For the record, Jorge Martin has won the most sprints with 14 victories from Pecco Bagnaia’s 10. And Ducatis have won all bar six of the shortened races.

The perfect prelude to Sunday’s main event.

JACK’S PLACE

Jack Miller of Australia has struggled to find the right set-up on the KTM this year – could that all change at Phillip Island?

Aussie Jack Miller has had a difficult year with KTM, and last month his MotoGP career was thrown a lifeline for 2025, scoring the last rider position with a one-year deal with Pramac Yamaha.

The knockabout Queenslander has not finished better than fifth in 2024, but at the island “Thriller Miller’’ often finds another gear and certainly gives all for his army of loyal fans.

A victory might be optimistic this year but a repeat of his podium third in 2019 would see an Aussie invasion of Gardner Straight post-race.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE

Australian Senna Agius will ride for the Husqvarna Intact GP Team in Moto2. Pic: Intact GP/Ronny Lekl

Not just Miller, but three next-generation Australian riders will be chasing hometown glory. Senna Agius, still just 19, is competing in Moto2 and while recent results haven’t gone his way, he would hope his history at the island would stand him in good stead. Competing in the national Supersport 300 series in 2019, the 14-year-old Agius won twice at the island on his way to the championship.

Australian Joel Kelso finished third in Moto3 at the island in 2023. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

And in Moto3, Darwin’s Joel Kelso, 21, has been knocking on the door for a couple of years, and this year has finished in the top eight in 10 of the 16 rounds so far. Kelso was third at the island last year, just his second podium finish. And to complete the home trio, Jacob Roulstone is building his career with the Red Bull GasGas Tech 3 team. The 19-year-old was a three-time Australian Junior Dirt Track Champion.

TITLE FIGHT

The duelling Ducatis of Jorge Martin (left) and Pecco Bagnaia are battling for the 2024 title.

The 2024 MotoGP title won’t be decided at Phillip Island but it just might make a major difference. Challenger Jorge Martin leads defending champion Pecco Bagnaia by just 10 points in the battle of the Ducatis. But the island’s penchant for throwing up surprise winners (Johann Zarco in 2023 and Alex Rins in 2022) could throw a spanner in the works. And Marc Marquez, a four-time Australian GP winner, could also have a say in where the title lands. Just three rounds remain after this weekend, so simmering tensions could surface between the top two. Standby.

THE WEATHER

The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is loved by riders and fans alike.

Yes, teams, media and fans spend as much time talking about the infamous Phillip Island weather as tyres, engines and lap times.

Friday’s forecast is looking damp but anything could and does happen. The weekend looks brighter though.

The circuit’s glorious view of the Bass Strait has its trade-off – that’s where the southerly weather sweeps in from. Enough said. And pack your raincoat.

Originally published as Australian MotoGP 2024: Vintage Marc Marquez produces stunning victory at Phillip Island